Not to be repetitive but it is worth repeating - BEST JACK STRAW EVER PLAYED!!! It's insane. Was at this show and it was incredible. Bobby and the boys went beserk!! Worth the price of admission alone. People reviewing this are NOT exaggerating. GET THIS SHOW!! By the way, this whole show was great and very enjoyable. The Dome always had some challenges with acoustics but always loved seeing shows here. Good times....

Was fortunate to see a whole string of shows in '84... Red Rocks, Berkeley & a portion of the East Coast tour here and there. No doubt the crowds were different in west and on the east coast. I remember traveling from my home in CO and kind of being disappointed with this show, but after listening to it more recently a couple times, I'm happy to report it really is a pretty good show musically. To me, '84 was a somewhat interesting year for the Dead...some interesting setlists though generally speaking most every show that I attended was pretty solid., and the ones I've gone back to listen to that I didn't attend, I wish I had! I suppose what probably turned me off by the Carrier Dome were the horrible acoustics...from where I recall being (about 1/3 of the stadium away stage right), it didn't seen that great. But problem was with me obviously.... or maybe it was my law school buddy's Cornell law school girlfriend's bad attitude that was affecting me. LOL. Anyway, a consistently good show with few low points...interesting that that they ended both the '83 show and '84 w Revolution. And thankfully, my good friend listened to my advice and didn't marry that woman. See...it all works out when music plays.

I did not experience this show the way I expected to, but nonetheless is was memorable. My first Dead show and last with Jerry.

This is not a bad SBD. Jack Straw is the only song I kept from another show, years ago (as a filler). It's by far the wildest version they ever played. It's alsolutely nuts! Maybe I should hear the whole show to see if there is anything else to keep. I love the difference between the Europe '72 Jack Straw and this one. The difference is so incredibly vast, it's amazing... almost as wide as the Grand Canyon. Now that I've listened to it, its pretty darn good... that's because Jerry sounds better than usual (for most of the show at least), and The Boyz seem to have a little X-tra "Take a step back!" edge tonight. Thanks kids for pissing off Bobby in the 1st set... just what The Boyz needed! I like the, thrice played in '84, Smokestack > Jam. Very nice finish too. I'll have to up from 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 stars. I'm sure a primo FOB would get to five if one ever comes up.
We'll see.

Arguably one of the top 10 Jack Straws played in the 80's. CRANK IT!!

Second set is a harbinger of things to come (Berkley 10/27- 11/3). Lovelight is quite solid. You have to remember, at the time, to hear 2 Pigpen songs {Smokestack} at one show was killer good stuff!

Second straight year that the band executed at the Dome in the middle of a stellar run (see/hear MSG and Hartford shows '83).

God bless.

this was my 2nd show and my brothers 1st, wow did we do alot of acid! 1 2 3 take a step back!!!!and we did, anyway this show rocked from beginning to end and in between sets we saw this dude out in the hallway on a stretcher with his eyes hammered into his skull by some mean acid, me and my bro ran away from him, got scared. Hope that dude is ok because it looked like he some recovery and rehab ahead. anyway loved that smokestack and Hes gone, hell I loved it all. There were so many Heads in my high school everyone played this show even in gym class. the halls of my high school had tye dyes like banners before and after local shows, i'll never forget those days and my buddy licking that sheet of acid!!!! He made it through. and so did we, ah what memories....

Love the simple brilliance of Jerry's intro solo into the full He's Gone solo (4:16 - 4:38).

I did not see this show, but I moved up to Syracuse the day they played here. Could hear the music pretty well from what was then the Holiday Inn Downtown. Welcome to town!

Not a good Bertha start. Feels like they had to drag Jerry out on stage. Bobby and Jerry struggling with their voices. Greatest Story was somewhat hard to get through. Love West LA but it's a slow go.
Good Jack Straw. The energy picks up and its a good show afterall...
Shakedown picks up and takes you away beautifully. Great Samson.

It's almost as if the Dark Star on 7/13/84, while not very special in itself, signaled a turning point in the year. IMO, the shows prior to that were hit and miss - but with the late summer and fall shows, they get pretty consistently good. Dare I say it, even a few great shows were played, 1984 standards non-withstanding.
Sad to say, too many October 84 shows haven't showed up in SBD's, but what we have really show what the band could do in that Persian year when they tried and the magic was right. 10/9 is very good, as is many people's favorite - 10/12. I know for sure I'll have to pick one more top ten from October, but I can't decide yet.
But on to October 20th - there is a sentimental factor in the mix in choosing this show. It was one of the first I downloaded as an MP3 back in whoa - 1998 I think !! That was when I was mainly a 1968 to 1977 kinda guy, but the Shakedown and Jack Straw really knocked me out. More on these later. :-)
Bertha and GStory really kick off the show with high energy, then a slow funky West LA. Next, a hot C.C. Rider, one of those songs that Brent's B3 organ really makes special. Bob actually behaves himself and stays within the bounds of pitch and key. Jerry gets in some nice licks. Jerry's voice is raspy on Ramble On, but he hits the notes. His solo bounces and sails, leaping to high notes and tumbling back down to the lower twang territory.
Okay, so far a solid first set. Nothing outstanding but they haven't dropped the ball either. And - no dumb Brent songs, no long dreary LL Rain or cowboy songs. Then - maybe the vibe improved after the crowd "moved back", but the show immediately shifts into a higher gear with a long Bird Song. JAM time!! This is another song that I think stands out in 1984 in some stellar versions. Jerry sings like a bird here, waaaay up there, and nails every note. The interplay between Brent, Phil and Jerry is like a Bach invention, like the clockwork of the universe on acid. This version has the feel of a warm, sunny rainbow-type Dark Star jam.
Finally, if you're a Jack Straw fan, look no further. It starts off ordinarily enough, although the perky tempo clues you this is gonna end up BLAZING. Phil and the drummers really drive the bus hard, and Garcia rips large holes in Space-Time with his power chords. Heavy Metal who?
Then rippling cascades of notes with enough teeth to put cracks in your walls. Wow, the old guy still has it in him, heh? Only a hint of what's to come.

Shakedown starts with Phil in the Bomb zone, and it never lets up. Okay, so Jerry flubs the first line. But this version is everything a Shakedown should be. Up tempo, energetic and full of WAH and FUNK. There's some funny delay on Jerry's vocals halfway through, and his Wah solos sound like someone talking to you underwater, and if you were only high enough you'd understand. At 8:30 it's Jerry unleashed. Then everybody jumps in the jam. Listen to Brent's fine jazz fusion piano playing. A standout version by any year's standards, even 1979 or 1981. More delay vocals at the end - must have been a freak for those dosed at the show!!
Samson keeps the pace up with more blazing guitar work from Garcia. The man doesn't run out of ideas tonight, his voice is rugged but his fingers are on steroids. A hot version and another standout for me.
By now it's clear the band is in a funky, bluesy mood - and so the He's Gone and Smokestack that follow seem natural, yet special. He's Gone had only been played once since July, and Smokestack had just recently been un-retired 2 weeks before, not since 1972 !!
The vocals on He's Gone are crisp, the harmonies haunting. Jerry really means it tonight - who is he singing this for? The post-song vamp is nice with more vocal collaboration from all, with Jerry doing his impression of an 75 year old black man wailing the blues -
Whoooaaaaaa .....
Then Bob drops it into Smokestack perfectly, and the crowd throws up a cheer. A hot but brief version. Takes you right down to the crossroads. Serious blues for white boys here. Then the jam that follows is one of the things that makes this show special for me. Bob starts doing Mind Left Body type chords. But that soon turns into a free for all with colors flying in all directions. Fine work by the drummers here too.

Space begins lightly, with marimba land sounds and Jerry throwing in some fuzz riffs. Then it's mainly Jerry with some spacey long tones from the group. Jerry's tone is like starlight with the band doing rotating black holes behind him. Pink Floyd's Echoes. Yeah. Gets a little harsh near the end, but not for long. Everything melts into the Wheel theme with beautiful trippy keyboard swirls from Brent. Then it's Jerry, not Phil's famous bass riff that starts the Other One. Ahh... Wheel>Other One>Black Peter - this is a familiar series that could be a 1976 or 1977 show. The band knows how to ride this train, and they do. The band then returns to the pre-drums He's Gone feel with a stellar Black Peter. Garcia delivers the goods here, sounding every bit like a man who just got up from his deathbed to sing one more song. Can he possibly play with more feeling than this? No. And more great vocal work from the band here, too.
The song ends with a bang, then a peppy Lovelight ends things with a smile.
A very good place to start collecting if you're just getting into 1984. A fun show, a solid show with some standout gems and rare moments.

enjoy,
Dr. Flashback :-)

In the text file, it asks "mono?"
The answer is "yes"
Could someone please post a stereo version of this show?

Is there anyone that rermebers staying at this guy Jamie's house? We were there the night before and having no place to stay we just walked around the town square a block or two away from the Carrier Dome. It started to rain and then here's this local hippy looking dude saying... Hey Any of you Deadheads need a place to stay - Follow me!
There was about 12 to 15 of us in this one bedroom house hanging out for two days. Jamie had a big pot of Clam Chowder and he shared it with us all. We in turn shared some killer blotter with him the night before the show. That night kinda embodied the whole hippy Deadhead experience for me. The actual show was Great! One of the Best of '84. Jack Straw rips!

hey garp6600 sgolin here what an experience i was in that van glad your doing well best funkin jac straw ever!!!!!!!!!!!! i remember walking through the lot and my friend saying dont stop lets go as we watched our comrads being dragged from the van. it was a major mind fukker. we went to the show and dropped alot of purple window panes and tried to forget about what happened but it wasnt the case my friend broke out in tears when they played hes gone and we hoped for the best that wasnt the case garp6600 was right we got the fuk out of new york state as soon as we could s.golin

Yes, the Jack Straw is as good as advertised, and so is the rest of the show. Here are a couple more JS gems..

http://www.archive.org/details/gd83-08-27.aud.hinko.16439.sbeok.shnf

http://www.archive.org/details/gd83-10-18.aud.dodd.12484.sbeok.shnf

i've had this tape forever...and still can't get enough of listening to this show. such a high energy performance. mad rock 'n roll here.

great sound.

Hands down the best Jack Straw you'll ever hear.
Just like stranger, bucket, bertha, touch, cold rain, etc. these tunes were always better when they didn't open a show.

This was a strange, strange, strange weekend.
With the premise of going "camping" in a state park; my buddies and I rented a TransVan camper, talked an 18 year old friend of ours to drive and headed east from the North suburbs of Chicago to Syracuse, 13 hours.
The ride out was uneventful except for when one of our not-so-into-the scene fellow travelers threw an empty case of beer bottles out the side door as we were heading down the Ohio Turpike....(this would prove to be a prophetic act of stupidity)
We arrived early in the morning and parked right across the street from the dome. After catching some shut eye, a buddy of mine talked me into leaving the van to go for a walk. Maybe play some hack, walk around check out the scene/girls etc.... I agreed and we set off on a beautiful crisp fall morning..
It was when I returned to the TransVan (dubbed 'the pressure cooker' on the ride home)that the trouble began. As I came up along side of the camper I saw my buddy across the next aisle jumping up and down waving his arms.....He was shouting something..."six...six six up?? six up?? 5-0...?"
I stopped next to the camper about to walk in the side door and kinda smiled at him like, "what the fuck???" just then a guy in a blue windbreaker with DEA written in big yellow letters comes walking around the back of the camper. I immediatly pretended to be walking past the van like I didn't live there, checked my back pocket for my ID (thank god I had it) and headed accross the aisle to my friend.
Apparently, the aforementioned dumbass that threw the beer bottles out of the van's first act as a guest of the Grateful Dead scene was to buy a sheet of vitamin 'c' and start selling doses out of the van.
My friend and I with the rest of the crew (There was only one other unlucky guy in the van with dufus when they raided)that drove out there with us sat for about an hour while they ripped through all of our shit.
Ultimatly, since there was only person in our group (our commisioned driver who happened to be 18)that drove; he bravely came forward and told the agents that he was the designated driver for the group. He frankly told them that there was a 'few other's' that came with him that were not involved in selling doses.
In a strange case of 'luck' the DEA told him and I'll never forget it...."Get the fuck out of New York or we will take this van, rip it to pieces and crush it..." My friend said, 'yes sir, as soon as possible..'.
They took the two guys to jail that day, one was released but he missed the show. I didn't see "beer bottle boy" for years. He ended up going to jail for selling LSD to a Federal agent where he ultimatly found Jesus and became a born again Christian. I am sure he never saw another Dead show again...
As for the survivors, as HST says, "When the going gets wierd, the wierd turn pro.." we all dropped some of the cleanest strongest windowpane acid we had done in that era and headed in the dome.
The show (Shakedown, Jack Straw, Ramble on Rose 'take a step back' etc...) was perilous, joyfull, violent, sad and ultimatly optimistic.
This recording is a nice representation of the energy from that night.
I clearly remember at the end of "Revolution"
('you know its gonna be.....alright...')when the lights came up my friend who had probably saved my life and I looked at eachother and said, "Lets get the Fuck out of New York as quickly as possible.."
Sadly, a footnote to the evening was that it was not an altogether good trip after the show (for me literally and figuratively). For those of you that have been to a dome; as you are leaving the wind literally blows you out of the venue and to those in a fragile state this can be unsettling; especially when the florecent lights from the outside hit you.
As we cleared the 'wind tunnel' we came over a walkway that crossed the backstage access. We came over the top just in time to see Jerry being literally carried by two guys, one on each arm waking him slowly to his limo... I remember he was wearing a long flannel shirt over his black "T" and he looked very, very tired. We all just kind of took a momment and reflected...
This seemed to be the frosting point for the weekend. My friend and I looked at eachother and again reiterated our new theme, "Let's get the fuck out of New York as quickly as possible."
We did.

we all knew it was gonna get stranger. true, 1984 was insipid at times and the band certifiably limped through charlotte, richmond and worcester on this run but augusta was a beautiful thing and this carrier dome thing was cooking. i was at the front end of this tour and here in syracuse---the place WAS mercilessly crowded---saturday night after all--and i spent the show far removed from the band but the energy was something else---the stream here confirms this. was always weird at the end of the tour pouring out into the night...agree with most assessments here---energy level never flagged. jack straw was hot but angry. shakedowns from 84-85 WERE funky. the wheel/other 1/black peter WERE perfect. that said, can we cease speculating on garcia's habits?--- it's tacky and smug. yes he was a public figure but we should show a little respect and be thankful that we had such a terrific signpost to NEW SPACE---pointing the way to the possibilities of improvisation at every level. he was funny too.

on my way from Saratoga Springs for this show.
I remember being hot on the floor and every once in a while a cool breeze would blow over me.
SU picked a good sponsor in Carrier.
Oh to be 19 again.
Saratoga was a great spot to make day trips to all the great east coast hot spots.
Too bad they only hit Lake Placid once!

High Power 84 barn burner. My second GD show. At this time in the game the dead were normally suspending their PA system from the roof scaffolding and playing in mid-sized hockey/bball arenas. The Dome being a soft roof didn't have the support for PA suspension so they went old school and built up with stacks off the stage platform with a massive wall of drivers to fill the hugeness of the venue. The crowd was pumped and mayhem enused with the floor seats being flooded with crashers. I ended up fdc about 100' from the stage, Phil's bombs were so loud I remember my pants vibrating against my legs. I love this first set nice thick sound. Great Birdsong & The Jack Straw is indeed one to behold, I remember thinking "Setbreak!? man, you guys were just getting revved up"...little did I know what was in store for us.

At setbreak I kept hearing people in the concourse and in the seats mentioning shakedown like pssst..Shakedown! etc. the place was kind of a buzz with it, it was weird as I was hopin for one. My reasoning at the time for them to play Shakedown was I thought it would be a perfrect song for the 'Cuse as the Shakedown St. album cover to me looked exactly like a scene from Syracuse's Salina Street. They came out and completely tore up the joint with it and the place turned into a popcorn machine 40,000 of us all bouncin to Shakedown. The rest of the set was on fire as well, one of the few 80's post space segments that really keeps up the momentum and fire. What people were suspecting to be a weak show due to how huge it was went down as an east coast standout.

Although this SBD does some justice, soundboards tend to lose the full energy of the building, to get the feel for the energy of this eve a HQ FOB AUD is needed. There are a ton of HQ audiences out there of this show I know I have heard them, anyone care to upload at least one?

Please.

Birdsong is mindblowing and Jackstraw takes off from there- Outstanding

I was a student at SU at the time. This show was tense and raw, which adds great energy to some songs. Overall a solid show with a good mix of material, although the reverb in the dome can get annoying at times. And yes, there is a good chance that a lumberjack may have been spotted outside-the NYS School of Environmental Science and Forestry is next door.

This was my first indoor show ever after starting with three outdoor venues. The increased energy of an enclosed space was mind blowing! I especially remember the crowd screaming back at Jerry during Shakedown. I can hear it beat out loud!! Does anybody else remember a LumberJack competition going on next to the parking lot?? I vividly remember sitting on a grass slope watching axe throwers and pole climbers?!?! God, I hope that really happened. Somebody help me out.

14 years old...1st concert...1st dead show...1st time on A. We had box seats for this one...dont ask me how lol. I was absolutely blown right away. As i listen back , the jackstraw was a complete monster and a real kick ass shakedown.What i remember from that night was the lovelight and revolution...most likely because those were the only tunes i knew back then.Good sounding SBD! Thanks for the upload.

Seriously, the Dome was like so totally packed with people. My buddy who was there the year before said it wasn't as bad then, who knows.
The show was real hot and definitely stream away, a good time will be had. Just imagine yourself being mashed and saying Whoa, sorry dude! a lot, and you're there
(there's an idea, the Dead having a mosh pit at the Dome. Probably not)
T.C. was also playing in Syracuse the same night and some of us were hoping he might sit in, there's another idea hey!
Maybe He's Gone is for old T.C. (thankfully he's not really gone :))
Peace out

This show would be a great Dicks Picks. Lots of variety and consistency from the start. The second set has some Jerry lyrical flubs, but he seems determined to make up for them with scorching leads. The whole show just has a unique sound and quality to it that makes me love it after all these years. Even after wearing out my tape, I held on to it just so I wouldn't forget it. I wish DP would start to vary their selection more to include some of the best of the Brent years (ie--Spring '90, Fall '89). After 18+ years in the collection this is still a "go-to" show for me. Enjoy. PS--Underrated Black Peter

I was at this show - whooah - as JR's in high school my buddies and I went under the cover of looking at colleges - yeah whatever - we were dosed the entire time - so many things happened to relay here but I WILL SAY THE SPARKS FLEW during Jack Straw - also remember someone running around with a horn blowing it in between songs.... BirdSong, Shake and the Other One also are standouts. Need AUD of this to really get the vibe - high energy crowd and show!

My friend and I drove all night from the North Shore of Boston and parked outside of Syracuse for a few winks at dawn. We got to the campus very early and actually parked right next to the Dome. After wandering around all day, visiting and scaring our straight laced friend from High school (we were...ahem...) we decided to go in. Well, we soon found ourselves floating along in this GIGANTIC crowd of a hundreds if not a thousand or more people down on this little courtyard all moving towards the same small double doors. Very slow and squashed. (Happily, no one panicked) I remember seeing these dudes standing on the walk way above us laughing because every other door into the place was wide open! At any rate, we got inside the door literally as the lights went down. We ran inside the arena at Bertha started. This was one of the few shows I saw where I really think just that one song was well worth th price of admission. The fact that there were 20 or so songs after it just makes me shake my head with wonder and thankfulness I got to be part of this kind of experience. Let's see, who else remembers jumping up and down outside the Dome between the pillars and making that warbling sound? I remember thinking holy shit, theres like 15 thousand folding chairs out on the field. And then you can see these tractor trailers tiny as can be down there next to the stage. This was one big funkin' arena!

This 1st set at the Dome will always stand out in my mind as a crazy night.. Partailly from my own ingestions, also musically I thought the band was well greased. No doubt the highlight in the 1st set for me is fantastic Bird Song then the relentless Jack Straw, it was like a runaway frieght train thundering down the tracks...It never wanted to end wave after wave of bone shaking power rock pummeling every deadhead in the building!! When I got my 1st aud tape of this show I remember labeling the cassette and putting exclamation marks at the end of JACK STRAW!!! ..as if I'd forget,!HA
SERIOUSLY, Need a killer AUD put up on this site pronto, if I had one I'd do it!!!
Where those Oade boys, did they tape this one??
I give it a happy 4!! 5 is reserved for shows like 5/9/77 etc...

Many of these 84's like other early 80's I consider very randomn. THese were not in high circulation in the late 80's early nineties when I was a big taper, although not at the level of many of you. Also never had access to those with the best and most shows. Now I''m listening to a lot of these randomns from venues like Syracuse and am quiet happy. New shows, sounds, etc. Hot Birdsong.

Very high energy close to the fall '84 east coast tour. Bob was definitely getting edgy with the crowd and their failure to move back. This Shakedown is one of my favorites, along with 6/30/85 and 12/31/84. Love the echo on Jer's voice. And they sure liked to play Revolution in upstate NY. :)

Best version ever. Period.

SHAKEDOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rippin' Jack Straw. I actually flew to Syracuse from Florida to see this show after seeing the first three shows of the tour because I kept hearing they were doing new shit like Smokestack.
You have to be fairly close to the stage at the Carrier Dome to get good sound. I was there in 1983 as well.

A nice First Set, the highlights being the Bird Song and a ridiculous Jack Straw with the whole band firing on all cylinders. The Shakedown to open the Second Set is classic with Jerry ripping huge wah solos; very funky. The Samson is fun, but sloppy. Jerry's backup vocals on this are awesome "DOOOOWN!!" A nice He's Gone with some poignant vocals by Jerry. Smokestack is always a winner. The back end of this show is super. Very nice Wheel. The Other One is out of this world. With
the whole band throwing themselves out of the stupor they were in. Jerry is out of his head on this one and the solos just keep rising and rising
Phil and the Drummers are keeping up a ferocious beat. This version has no let up. And then a monster Black Peter. The previous reviewer was right: Jerry sounds like he is singing about himself on this one, as he was in horrible shape by late 84 and probably close to kicking the bucket(luckily he somewhat sobered up later), but this makes this Black Peter even more special. Jerry sings his heart out and the band is
super tight. A big solo for the break. The "Come and See" cresendo is raw pain and emotion from Jerry. The song finishes with a long brutal solo by Jerry with some nice feedback. The quintessential Junky Jerry Black Peter. A good Lovelight to finish it off.

Overrall, by late 84 the band has taken a turn for the worse in terms of tightness. The summer 84 shows are very tight and energetic, but here they sound tired until the Second Set, especially revving it up for the back end. Jerry was absolutely lost in a Persian Haze, but even the most uneven shows have their golden moments that make the ride all worth it. Get this for the Jackie and the Second Set.

Recommended

peace
fireonshakedownstreet

Listening to this, I wonder if they were having any fun. Actually, I have a sneaking suspicion they weren't. Bobby sounds really tired and aggravated pleading with the crowd to step back, there's nothing lighthearted about it. Jerry sounds really out of it. He was in the deepest, darkest depths of junkie life at this point, and you can hear it. It's tragic to hear such a brilliant person literally disintegrating onstage. We know he pulled out of it and had a renaissance in the late-80's, but at this point no one could have predicted that. The band must have thought he could die any day, and he was only 42 years old! Listening to him sing Black Peter is like listening to a man sing his own epitaph. As far as the Jack Straw, it is a solid version, but knowing all the background makes it seem like a bad vibe. It is a little long, but like the version from 8/22/93 it kind of starts to sound like killing time towards the end. For a really explosive, Brent-era Jack Straw, the one from Go To Nassau is really hard to beat. Also, Garcia starts off Shakedown by not only blowing the first line, but basically just going, "EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH..." That's a buzzkill. Aside from all that, this a pretty good sounding soundboard from a year where you don't hear very many good SBD's. Don't get me wrong, they could still turn in a good show during this period, just check out 10/12/84 if you want a completely opposite vibe from this.

Yes indeed boys and girls this Jackie rocks the boat, one of the longest and badass versions me and my grandpappy ever heard, Jack Straw rules.

A real treat..........listen to the way Healy manipulates Garcias voice.....nice delay effect.

I was getting squeezed during the 1st set and retreated to the upper balcony, where I heard the reverb on Garcias voice load and clear

I was a student at SU and was at this show, although nowhere near the front where everyone was getting squeezed. Weir was getting ticked off because he had to keep asking the crowd to cooperate, and no one near the front was listening or attempting to move back. At the time it was kind of a buzzkill and I didn't really enjoy the show as much as others from that time period, but listening to this recording makes me realize it was still good. Never really was a big fan of the Dead's rendition of Revolution.

I agree, that was one momentous Jack Straw. It was also a tension-filled performance of that song. Weir had to tell the crowd to "take a step back" a couple of times. He did so with weary resignation in his voice. I'm not sure he appreciated the tricks Healy was playing with his voice as he tried to get the crowd to move back. That set the stage for an angry version of that song. Weir was jacked and it shows. Also note how he ends the set. "we're gonna take a break, everybody move back!" I was, um...out there at the time and having a band member pissed at the crowd definetly put a bummer on my head. All was well by the time Shakedown Street started. Check out the Jack Straw, it's interesting to hear them playing angry.

Listen to more than just the guitar licks.....hear the whole song composite......drums, piano, and licks...........

This is the MONSTER OF ALL!!!!!!I was at this one and this is the JACKSTRAW!!!!Never seen or heard a better one.Download for this amazing 7:21 minutes of pure joy!!!!!!!!!